Perfect Christians
A devotional by Alexis A. Goring
It was a perfect fall day with crisp air in the atmosphere, beautiful scenery (love the changing colors of the leaves) and the weather warm but cool enough to wear my favorite tan color boots. I had a great day but I was hit by anxiety as I reflected on how lately, I as the quintessential perfectionist, felt like I was falling short of being perfect and therefore disappointing God.
As I drove down the road in my car alone, I felt God impress me with these words, “It’s not about you being perfect. It’s about you having faith in Me.” Those words rocked my reality in a good and needed way because I realized that I’ll never be the “perfect” Christian completely because I’m only human and we live in a broken world.
Nobody is perfect—not me, not you, not the most capable people in the world—but there is a God, a Lord and Savior who is perfect and sinless—His name is Jesus Christ. I’m learning to look to Him as my refuge and thank Him for His grace and mercy that kept me because even on my best days when I think I’ve done my best and am close to perfection, I still will never be good enough—or sinless enough—to make it to Heaven without an active, steadfast faith in God.
The Bible says that all of our righteousness is like filthy rags as it says in the King James Version translation of the verse Isaiah 64:6. It’s our faith and obedience to God that helps us make it to Heaven, not our best efforts of trying to be perfect while here on planet Earth. We live in a broken world. People are suffering and nobody’s perfect, not even the most “perfect” Christians, which is why it’s important to follow Christ, not Christians.
When he was living, the famous Mahatma Gandhi said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
God is not looking for Perfect Christians. He is looking for faithful followers, people who take up their cross and die to their fleshly desires daily (Matthew 16:24). Evangelist Billy Graham explained it clearly. Visit this link to read what it means for a Christ-follower to take up their cross daily and follow Him.
In closing, I’d like to share a song by my Mom’s favorite gospel artist, CeCe Winans. One of the songs that CeCe sings has special meaning for my Mom and for this devotional. The song is called “His Strength is Perfect.” You can listen to it on YouTube by clicking HERE
The message from the song is that God’s strength is perfect. We can rely on His mercy and grace to carry us when we are weary. It’s a song that reminds us that this life is about Him, not us. It’s not about our success stories or personal glories. It’s about realizing that when we are weak, we can lean on God because His strength is perfect and He’ll help us through the trials of life. When we are at our end and we rely on Him, God’s strength in us begins. He is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1).
Isn’t that beautiful? Let’s celebrate this truth and remember that God isn’t calling us to be perfect, He’s calling us to be faithful.
Alexis Goring Bio
Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.
Social Media Links for Alexis A. Goring
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/PennedbyAlex
Website:
https://alexisagoring.jimdo.com
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/capturingidea/
“God is
Love” blog: http://capturingtheidea.blogspot.com
Alexis, I really appreciate your devotional post here today. Thank you so much. God bless you ...
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Peggy! :) God bless you.
ReplyDelete